"Welcome back, duel fans! You're just in time to join our fourteen remaining World Duel Carnival finalists as they journey into the next section of our competition, the Dragon's Den! Which of our finalists will move on? Which of our finalists will go home?
Only one way to find out: keep it here for all the action!"
So announces the MC for this grand affair, Mister Heartland, shortly after Athena - thanks in part to the surprise aid from Anna and Nistro - pulverizes the infamous Triad of Terror. With them out of the picture, she and her seldom-seen partner Astral could concentrate on entering the mouth of the winding tunnels to join the rest of the contestants eager to make their mark in this tournament...
"Wow, that really puts things into perspective."
Zooming in on one section of the big stadium crowd, the eyes of our big group of allies turn to Akira, he sporting a thoughtful expression on his face. It would be Hart who asks him about the meaning of his sudden statement.
"Whaddo you mean, Akira?"
"Well think about how many people entered this tournament from the start. It must've been somewhere in the ten-thousands, especially if you consider that some of them aren't even from this country. By the end of the preliminaries, that number plummeted to less than two dozen...and now we're down to just fourteen."
"...Oh wow. Put it like that..."
"Mhm, alot to take in, isn't it? (Half-smile) Plus it says plenty about your brother's skill as a duelist."
That comment causes a big smile to curve onto the little Tenjo's face.
"Yeah...Yeah, it does!"
Kite's duel monster skills are awesome. There's no way he won't make it to the finale.
"Of course, it's not just Kite we should applaud. Shark's not giving an inch either...and neither is our Addy."
Focus turns to Caden as he adds with confidence,
"Considering how many obstacles she's clawed her way past, there was no doubt she'd make it out of all of us."
A few nods are shared by faces such as Tiffany, Hana and Calli, though Flip can't help but literally point out one factor regarding the Fujina's current position.
"Maybe so, but she's gonna have to work her butt off to catch up with the others, seein' as her cart's in last place."
"Tch, well it's not like her cart's position tells you anything about how good of a duelist she is."
Caswell agrees with the feline fanatic's assessment.
"Caden's right. We've all seen hints that Athena is more than meets the eye, and in the end, she always pulls out a victory, with or without Astral's aid, of course."
Jamal hums while squinting his eyes at the holo-television near their seats,
"Yeah well, it looks like she and Astral might need the flashlight function on her gazer. I can barely make out the walls of the tunnels..."
Flip and Akira each add with serious tones,
"Which means neither of them will know what's lurking around each twist and turn of the track."
"And considering the amount of bad souls still in this tourney..."
The young woman with long white-blond hair asks the eldest male of the bunch,
"Speaking of which, has anyone from the Supernovas contacted you yet about, you know...?"
"Not exactly. Shayna's keeping me informed via text from the temp base nearby, and so far, the Higmans - I told you guys about them the other day - and a couple others have only managed to round up Trilos's flunkies, or most of them at least. There could be a few still hiding somewhere...Meanwhile..."
Akira turns his eyes to the screen with a hard glare.
"Their leader's still playing the Invisible Man ever since he entered the Dragon's Den."
"And the running theory is that he's found a way to cloak himself with some encrypting technology, right?"
He nods at the boy with the bowl-cut of turquoise hair.
"That's what Shayna's cousin Weber thinks, but it sounds like he's having trouble decoding."
"Hm...Is there a way you could get him to contact me for a disk link?"
"Uh, sure, that shouldn't be a problem. Why?"
Slipping out his duel disk and twirling out the detachable pen, Caswell states with a small grin,
"Call it an educated hunch, but perhaps this requires a collaboration of technical genius. (Looks over his shoulder) And I don't just mean me. Tiffany?"
"Uh, (...small smile) sure thing!"
Grabbing out her own duel disk, the girl with the black bob of hair thinks to herself,
If stopping that creep from playing ghost will help Addy and Astral out even just a little bit, I'm happy to be a part of the solution.
As the more tech-savvy members of Athena's peer group prepare to do digital battle, the mayor of this grand city continues to cater to the massive audience blissfully unaware of the true danger lurking within.
"And now to explain what our remaining finalists will need to do. The goal is simple: they have to get to one of the four duel fields before their competition does. And those fields are: Magma, Space, Jungle, and Desert. Each of these four fields have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Duelists will have to race to the one they believe will give them the edge. And now, let's get to DUELING!"
...
Back in the tunnels, as their cart continues to speed along, Athena and Astral speak to one another regarding the new phase of the competition.
"So it's down to just us and thirteen other people. Damn, tourney pressure's relentless..."
"And considering our new goal, it will only get worse."
"Right. Four fields means four one-on-one duels, meaning only eight contestants will move forward in...Wait, (widens eyes) we're already that close to the quarter-finals?!"
"It would seem so."
"...And I reiterate. Damn!"
Shifting gears so they can go a little faster, the human says to the celestial being,
"We need to pick up the pace or we won't stand a snowball's chance in hell."
"Very well, but be careful of your speed and remember to keep a sharp eye on the map."
"I know, I know; don't be a backseat-ayh, I mean side-seat driver. Sheesh."
As our main duo begin their climb up the tracks, we zoom ahead to the duelist acting as the technical 'leader' of these more than a baker's dozen finalists, Quinton. He too is assessing the tournament's new settings, but with his focus fixated on certain individuals.
"This map shows I'm in first place. Vetrix is currently second...and Kite is in third."
Hm...It looks like Kite is attempting to chase Vetrix...
Similar to how Shark is tailing my brother.
Speaking of the elder Tenjo brother, we catch up with him for a moment as he readies to shift his cart to a track closer to the masked puppet master's route...
"Vetrix, I'm going to hunt you down."
He toggles his steering stick to the right, and around the time his cart moves to the next track over, Vetrix himself finds himself grinning almost playfully over the possibilities in store for this round of the WDC.
"Oh, what fun! The dark is sure to be chock-full of many surprises. I can't wait to see who or what I find first, ahehahahahaha!"
...Unbeknownst to him and Kite, there's another duelist aiming to pump the breaks on the former's nefarious schemes. We peer in on her - Dextra - as she grits her teeth over the echoes of her target's laughter.
"Giggling fool. You won't be laughing for long...I'm going to gather as many Life Points as I can, and finish you."
...I may not be able to reason with Kite about his livelihood...but, I can at least try to protect him from dangerous people like Vetrix.
Her noble goal contrasts the desire of vengeance burning within Reginald Castle, aka Shark, as he continues his furious chase after the other Arclight brother in this tournament...Although, based on the faint falters in his set glare, it seems the younger male's mind is still somewhat mulling over the odd words his enemy said to him two days ago.
...Quattro...Just what the hell was he trying to imply?
(Flash)
"You act like you're not any more of a phony than I am."
(Flash)
"At least I'm starting to wake up to some truths and understanding where I screwed up."
(Flash)
"Just try to avoid becoming as warped as you see me, okay, Shark?"
(Flash)
...Tch, if he thinks I'll believe he's 'seen the light' or whatever, he's gotten way stupider than I remember.
"And even if by some dumb miracle he's not lying...it's too late to be sorry."
The boy with the dark indigo-purple hair shifts gears so he can better catch up with his target's path.
"He needs to pay for what he did to Rio, and only I can get her that retribution!"
I'll end this, for good this time.
...Of course, the young man with the dual hair colours of dark rouge and blond is well-aware of the shadow tailing him. Contrary to his usual sadistic smirks, however...this one seems almost forced.
"So he's not giving up his crusade, huh?...Alright, so be it."
Maybe he'll kick my ass this time, maybe he won't...but after what Vetrix said...there's no way I'm letting him become a boring angry puppet.
...Still, doesn't mean I can't make things a bit difficult for my rival.
"Let's see if your little sharks can stand the heat of the Magma field, Reginald."
With that, Quattro begins his plan to lure the other duelist to his desired field for battle...
By this time, Nistro found a way to sneak ahead of Athena as soon as he entered the Dragon's Den, and he's already about to meet cards with one of the more forgettable souls that clambered their way to this section of the WDC.
"...Hey, Nistro! I'm callin' you out!"
"Huh?...Who's this fool?"
The 'fool' in question appears to be a young man in his late teens with a pale beige complexion, fern green hair cut into a shoulder-long flyaway style with dull orange highlights, some of which being tucked under a navy blue trucker hat, and gray-brown eyes. On his body is an outfit that would make viewers think of a race car driver.
"Come on, chump; I'm talkin' to you!"
Back in the stadium, Mister Heartland provides the audience the necessary commentary.
"Looks like we've got a duel on our hands! It's tricky Tommy Noble versus the notorious Nistro!"
A set of lights click on within the tunnels where the two duelists are to give everyone a better view of what will happen...
"I'll make this quick and painless! Go, Grapple Blocker!"
The summoned monster is a Level Four with 1200 Attack Points, and sports the visage of a humanoid with four tentacles sprouting out of their back and clothing similar to a stereotypical masked wrestler, the colour scheme being blue, yellow-green and sandy brown...
"Tommy Noble? How that hack got this far into the finals, I'll never know. But I do know he won't make it any further!"
Nistro puts one of his cards to work straight away, namely, a Spell.
"I play the Spell, Heroic Call, and with it, I can now summon the powerful Heroic Challenger - War Hammer from my hand! Come on out and join the party!"
Said monster rises to the field without delay, their strength a formidable 2100 Attack Points, reasonable for a Level Six. Much like the rest other members of this archetype, this warrior is sporting a set of heavy armor, and as their name implies, in their hands is a tall war hammer for a weapon...
Yet despite the obvious differences in power, Tommy still goes forward with throwing down against Nistro.
"Put the squeeze on 'im, Grapple Blocker!"
"Get your slimy mitts off my monster!"
War Hammer easily rips himself free from the opposing tentacles, before lunging in for kill.
"Let's show 'em how to land an attack, War Hammer!"
(...WHACK)
One swing is all it takes, and Grapple Blocker's history, the impact of their end sending Tommy Noble's Life Points straight down to zero. He'd be ejected out of his cart shortly afterward (and possibly through a secret opening in the tunnel walls, if one considers the dire repercussions that would've ensued if that poor duelist actually hit the ceiling...), while the winner of this quick match carries on without batting an eyelash.
Teh, that was too easy.
"A truly amazing victory for former World Duel Carnival Committee member, Nistro! With just one move, he beats the tricky Tommy Noble!"
While Heartland may be reflecting admiration, Calli isn't quite as enthused, she forming a distasteful frown over the loser of this one-turn battle.
"Ugh, really, Noble? You've gotten that sloppy?"
First the Triad of Terror (though they definitely deserved it), now him. What is happening to the professional lineup?
"Man, Cal, how many of these champs do ya know?"
She locks her dark green irises with Jamal's aqua green as she replies matter-of-factually,
"It's basic tourney life one-oh-one to do even the bare-bone research on potential opponents. Tommy Noble is just one of many...Though I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed tough underdogs like him are getting knocked out so easy."
Akira shrugs,
"Mm, well professionals can't hog the spotlight forever. Their time to step down comes eventually, sometimes a bit earlier than expected."
"True..."
"Well I'm done watching nobodies like Noble!"
Eyes turn to Caden as he fights the urge to stand atop his seat, his expression set in frustration.
"Come on, just show one screen with Addy! Just one; is that too much to ask?!"
All his friends feel the metaphoric sweatdrop form at his behaviour, while Hart merely raises a confused eyebrow.
I, still can't figure this guy out.
Nistro's POV
Not long after taking down that clown Tommy Noble, I spot another face - or rather, his cart - not too far ahead of me...
Quinton, huh?...That's right: I think I saw him in the crowd at that party two days ago.
...Now he actually looks like a challenge.
I pick up the speed to catch up with him...
"Hey pal! Whaddya say we duel?"
I catch a blurb of Heartland commentating just as the LED lights around us turn on, before refocusing on Quinton as he berates me for calling him out.
"Fool. Dueling me is a colossal mistake."
"We'll see. War Hammer, attack him directly!"
My monster gets about halfway into its lunge, but would be stopped with a counter.
"Sorry, but that won't work Nistro, not when I activate Malevolent Flash from my hand! This card stops your monster's attack and returns them right to your hand."
War Hammer falls into a blinding light, and I'm forced to take them off the field space and set them in my current hand again. I don't waste time in mocking my opponent for their rather lackluster performance.
"Come on, Quinton! That was all bark and no bite. You'll need to do way better than that if you want a shot at beating me."
"Oh come now, Nistro, don't flatter yourself. You know you're outmatched...I activate the spell, Punishing Fire! And just like that, you take 600 Points of Damage."
I let out a cry as the burn of the spell hits me, and my Life Points roll down to 3400...
Tch, this is nothing. I can still take this pompous ass on!
...At least that's what the overconfident part of me decided for the next couple minutes, which would cause me to look back on this reckless decision with a groan of embarrassment later in life. I'll spare the details, but let's just say, Quinton proved to be a little more calculated with his moves than I gave him credit for, to the point where I couldn't even leave a dent in him. Me, on the other hand; I got knocked down to just 500 Life Points...
Damn it, he's like a steel wall!
"I know it's a hard fact to accept, but you are in a duel you cannot win."
Even if he is right, and despite the likelihood of me looking back at this moment as a big blunder...right now, I could care less.
I can't give up. Not while I still have cards to play.
"Tuh! You're not seeing the big picture!...My plan will soon become clear to you, I promise!"
"Is it a plan to lose?"
"(Smirk) Keh, please, get real, Quinton. Losing is your department; mine is beating chumps like you. Lemme show you! I summon Heroic Challenger - Double Lance from my hand!"
My monster rises to the field without delay...
"When I Xyz-Summon, this monster counts as two...so I Overlay two Level Four Double Lances! With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network and Xyz-Summon, Heroic Champion - Excalibur!"
Seeing my powerhouse rise to the field stokes the fires of my confidence once more.
Alright. Let's do this!
"Excalibur can't attack unless I have 500 or fewer Life Points, which I do...and that's just the start! Using all of its Overlay Units, I can double Excalibur's Attack Points!"
So now my mighty Xyz is standing with 4000 rather than 2000 Attack Points. It won't completely take Quinton out, but this next move will definitely cut his Life Points down to size...
"Nooow, go Excalibur! Attack Quinton directly!"
...Or at least that was the plan, until Quinton cuts in with another counter.
"I activate the Trap Card, Never-ending Nightmare!"
What?!
"This card not only stops your monster's attack, but you also take damage equal to half its Attack Points!"
A smoggy mist envelops my monster, and they turn around with their sword raised at ready to attack me instead!
"Auh! No way!"
"Ironic that your own monster will deliver defeat. You will soon be finished!"
Damn it, damn it!
"...Heh, 'fraid I'm gonna have to disagree with you there, pally!"
Huh?
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, some kid with dark acid green hair tipped black cuts in from an intersection so he's smack-dab between me and Quntion!
Who's this?
"I summon, Twin-Barrel Dragon!"
Said monster rises to the field, even despite the fact that my War Hammer's still barreling this way...
"And now I activate Twin-Barrel's effect: since I succeeded in summonin' this bad boy, I can target one card on you control for destruction. 'Course, that's assuming I get two heads in a double coin flip."
Two coins manifest into the kid's hand, and he wastes no time in tossing them into the air...
Miraculously, they both land heads!
"Oh-hoh, would you looki' that? Two heads!...Twin-Barrel, blast away that Never-ending Nightmare trap, would ya?"
(POW-POW)
Just as their name implies, the double-barreled head of this dragon releases a twin shot of electrical energy that obliterates Quinton's card, meaning I'm safe from my monster's wrath!...But this stranger wasn't done.
"Keh, (grin) your cold and serious demeanor's kind-of annoying me. Let's shake things up a bit, shall we? I activate my spell, Dragon's Gunfire!"
As soon as his card activates, a big ball of fire slowly starts to grow from the 'mouths' of this kid's monster...
"This might be bending the rules slightly since my monster's technically not a true dragon, but who cares when you get results? Now, since your field's empty, I'll be going with the first effect, and deal you 800 Points of Damage!"
The fireball is released, and it engulfs Quinton's cart upon impact, causing him to flinch as his Life Points roll down to 4200.
"Ah-h! Nnh...! No, my, my Life Points...! You will pay for this, I swear!"
"Aw, what's the matter? Feelin' flustered 'cause you're not as flawless as your inflated ego thinks you are?"
Ouch. This kid lays it hard.
And it seemed for a moment, Quinton was going to follow through with his threat...But then, he's contacted by someone - Vetrix, I think - who tells him to back off and leave us alone. He obviously didn't want to at first...but follows through with the order, turning down a left-bound track as soon as it comes into view.
Tuh, what a sore loser.
I slow my cart to a stop with this kid's, and lean up a bit to send my thanks.
"Good timing, kid. You really saved my hide...Hey, whaddo you say to a team-up? We can go after that clown, and really 'em have it."
He turns around to meet eyes with me, showing his sandy-beige smirking face and burnt orange-brown irises to me.
"Mm, a tempting idea...but maybe we should get you somewhere so you can regain some Life Points?"
"Uh, yeah, good point. I'm guessing you know a spot?"
"Sure do. Just follow me."
...
...
He leads me to an area that seems untouched by all the other competitors...and no card markers are in sight.
Huh?
"Hey, what gives? I thought you said you knew where to gain Life Points."
"...Heheheheheh. You're an even bigger dumbass than I thought."
"Wha'd you say?!"
(...Whap-cr-shhh)
"Uh-h!"
Suddenly, my cart's slammed from behind, and I turn around to see a coaster with two nameless punks wearing tops with this weird black hole print on the front similar to his.
"What the hell?!...An ambush?!"
"That's right~, but not quite in the same way as the Triad of Losers...See, the aim's not just to take you out of this tourney, (sneer) but to take you."
"What's that mean?"
"Let's just say, you'll make excellent bait for my true target...Now then."
He holds up a new card to play:
"I activate the Spell, Polymerization!...I use Twin-Barrel Dragon on my field, and Blowback Dragon in my hand, and Fusion-Summon Level Eight Gatling Dragon!"
...And quick as a whiplash, I'm facing a nightmare of a monster I can't even describe that's part dragon, part gatling gun, and all kinds of freaky! What's worse is that their strength is greater than Excalibur by 600 Attack Points...
"Now I could just end this in one blast, (evil grin) but where's the fun than that? See, Gatling Dragon's got an effect of their own: once per turn, I can flip a coin three times, and for every flip that lands heads, Gatling Dragon destroys a monster on your side. After that...heh, well, I don't think I need to explain."
I feel the colour drain from my face, realizing I had no way out of this crappy situation.
Shit...!
"Hehaha, now there's a look I live for: the look of absolute dread...Alright, Gatling: let's put this poor sucker out of his misery."
...I didn't have to pay attention to the coin flips to know that my Excalibur was a goner...
And so was I.
(GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA)
"Aaaaaauuuuuuhhhh!"
Athena's POV
...Okay...am I, crazy, or have these tunnels suddenly gone mute?
Astral and I have been rolling steady along these dark tracks, and thanks to some tag team maneuvering, not only did we dodge some potentially bad traps, but we managed to increase our Life Points to 5200 thanks to a well-timed Poison of the Old Man, a somewhat unconventional but useful Spell to pump up a duelist's strength.
...What's really bugging me though is that things have gotten strangely quiet. I mean, part of it could be due to the fact that I decided to turn off the Heartland play-by-play because it was really starting to grate on my ears...But for the last several minutes, I haven't run into anybody, not even the least-desirable people.
We can't be that far behind the others who still have a foot in this tourney, can we?
...Wait...
That's when something catches my eye as we turn down a left curve, a something...that was laying on the tracks!
"Ah crap!"
I hurry to pull the break, the sharp screech ringing loud as the wheels struggle to slow down, and Astral and I go slamming backwards into our seats. Luckily, we stop just in time, parking about seven feet away from the object...
"Hah, hah, and why, may I ask, did you stop us so abruptly?...!"
"Hah-hh, because if I didn't, (points) I'm pretty sure that would've derailed us."
"Hm? (Looks) Oh! Now I see...Hm?...Wait a moment..."
Suddenly, Astral rises from his seat and floats over to the object draped over the tracks. He leans down for a closer inspection:
"...I could be mistaken, but I believe this is someone's coat."
"What? Really?"
I carefully toggle with the controls so I could inch the coaster cart closer. Once I'm about a foot within the apparent piece of clothing, I lift myself up, and climb over the visor so I'm crawling across the front of the vehicle to get a gander at the object a short distance away...
A move which Astral didn't approve of.
"Ah! Athena, what are you doing?! Get back in the cart!"
"Relax! You make it sound like sound like I'm gonna hop onto the tracks...Just need to, lean down and-(grab), got it."
Once I lift the item up, I'd be shocked to learn that it's not some random coat, but rather,
Uh-h!...This-This is Nistro's coat!
...But what's it doing here, (looks up) and more importantly, where the hell's its owner?
Forgetting how dangerous my current spot technically is, I stand up on the roof of the cart and attempt to call out for the duelist on my mind.
"Nistroooo! You nearby?...Nistroooo!"
...No answer is given, and I'm briefly snapped out of my growing worry when Astral grabs my wrist and carefully leads me in the direction of the safer seats.
"Athena, I really must insist that you get back in your seat. It is not safe for you to be up here."
A part of me wants to roll my eyes, but I know that he's just trying to look out for me like a good friend would...Once we're sitting in the cart again, I find myself staring down at the coat, my mind racing.
"...Something's wrong. I can feel it; something happened after Nistro's duel with that Tommy guy. I remember that much before I turned off the commentary."
"What do you think happened?"
"I don't know, but it's been too quiet. We haven't run into anybody since we entered this place, and while part of it can be blamed on our careful routing, something else doesn't feel right."
"Athena...Hm?"
That's when Astral notices something sticking out of the right pocket.
"Look, there."
I peer down at the spot he's pointing to, and see the corner of a folded note peeking out. Curious, I lay the coat on my lap so I can grab the paper for my own hands...I almost wish I didn't grab it, when I notice its addressed name, a name that I've grown to absolutely despise.
Hh!...'To: Berserker'...But then, that means...
I waste no more time and unfold it, that bastard's voice practically echoing through my brain with every word I read.
'Funny, isn't it? How you can make an overconfident dummy feel grateful after savin' their ass from defeat, only for them to find out their savior is a more dangerous monster? Heha, should've seen how white his skin got when he realized his blunder; now that, is pure dread. But don't worry; he's still in one piece...for now.
I'll make it simple: if you wanna guarantee Nistro's livelihood before this length of the tourney's finished, I'll be waiting in one of the duel fields. I could say which one, but where's the fun in that?
Until then, Berserker.'
...Fuck!
I slam my left hand into the visor of the cart, the note getting crushed in my right as I fight to unleash an entire chorus of slurs.
Trilos! Damn him! Damn him to hell!
...Athena.
My rage cools some when I hear a different voice echo into my head in real time, the owner of that voice reaching over to grab the hand clutching the crude letter. I whip my head over to meet his eyes...and one look into them calms me down almost instantly.
"Gh-h!...Astral..."
He doesn't say anything, and unfurls my fingers from the paper so it drops to the floor of the cart, his hand replacing it...For that short moment, nothing else mattered but him, me, and the feeling of my hand in his, or, his in mine, whatever...
'But all good things must come to an end' as they say, and I draw in a deep breath before allowing the calmer part of my mind take over to carefully analyze this new problem.
...Okay. So Nistro's been captured, and it sounds like the only way to save him is to meet that asshole for a duel.
...The last thing I ever want is to give into any of his demands...but he unfortunately picked the right day to make them...just like with Hart.
"Am I correct to assume that we are going to hunt Trilos down?"
I turn to Astral with a reluctant expression and nod,
"Yes, and believe me when I say that I'd rather do anything else...But if Trilos really pulled this heist off without getting caught, that means he's completely ghosted Mater and his brothers. Not only that-(gulp), but Nistro is a whole other kind of insurance compared to Hart. Trilos can barely keep himself in check around little kids, but fellow teens and adults are free game."
"You mean, he might-"
"Beat Nistro within an inch of his life?...Possibly, or at least pretty damn close. Killing him won't do Trilos good, but that doesn't mean he can't make things uncomfortable for him, and that's just putting it politely."
My friend and partner clenches his teeth in distaste at such a description, but nods in understanding.
"I see..."
"Plus there's a chance he might be the only one left to properly take on for the quarter-finals...Though, now that I think about it..."
I look towards the distant tracks waiting for us and comment,
"Maybe it was suppose to be this way, even without Nistro getting caught in the crossfire...Trilos needs to be taken out before he can cause anyone else harm, and I might be the only one who can do it."
"Hm..."
"I understand you and everyone are trying to keep me safe, but-"
"I know...There is only so much that can be done to keep the people you care about safe from harm."
Astral's hand squeezes mine a bit more tightly as he says to me,
"Though I despise the very thought of you facing that brute again...I know you are more than capable of defeating him. Plus we cannot just abandon Nistro."
"So, are you with me on this?"
"...I am."
I feel a half-smile curve onto my lips, glad to hear my partner is still willing to go forward with me, even if it means heading towards a path for danger.
"In that case, let's get going."
I toggle with the controls so we're moving forward again...
"But before we get too ahead of ourselves, we better inform everyone sitting in the stands."
I tap my duel disk to pull up the communicator on my gazer, and choose Tiffany without hesitation.
She'll answer the quickest.
(Beep-beep, beep-beep-ping)
[Addy?]
"Hey, Tiff. Everyone in range of your gazer?"
[Uh-huh. We're all here...What's going on?]
"Trouble, unfortunately. Big trouble...It's Nistro. He's been captured by Trilos."
A big chorus of 'What?!' rings into my ear, making me wince a bit before a slew of questions comes streaming in.
[Whaddo you mean Nistro's been-]
[Are you and Astral okay?!]
[When did this happen?!]
[Where is that bast-]
I cut in before it all becomes a tangled mess of words.
"Okay, stop! Just, all of you stop before my speaker blows out!...Hah. Now you guys aren't gonna like this next part, but he left a note saying that if I want to save Nistro...I have to meet him in one of the duel fields."
[In other words, he's baiting you into a fight?]
"Afraid so."
[...Okay.]
My eyes widen slightly, not expecting such a calm response from my best friend.
"Okay?...Tiff, are you feelin' alright?"
[Well obviously not! If anything, the thought of you facing that creep's already making me ill!...Still, it's not like I can stop you from where I am, (slight smile) and your spirit is strong, way stronger than Trilos will ever be.]
The others chime in from nearby,
[Yeah, what she said!]
[We know you can take Trilos down, Addy!]
[Plus it wouldn't be right to throw Nistro to the dogs.]
[Trilos is a mega-douche and needs to be taught a lesson.]
Guys...
Hearing them rally behind me about as fast as Astral did brings a smile to my face, making me feel grateful for having such awesome friends...
[Now, here's where I have to ask: have you actually seen Trilos yet?]
I frown as I reply to Tiffany,
"No, but from what I understand, he's found a way to camouflage his coaster cart. (Glance) I can't even see it on the ma-...What, the...?"
Suddenly, several copies of Trilos's cart icon pop on the screen, going in different directions!
"Auh! No way!"
[What's wrong?!]
"His icon's back, but, there's a whole crop of 'em!...I can't tell which one's the real one!"
Astral comments from beside me,
"Most likely another trick to throw us off his trail..."
Caswell pops up in another screen beside Tiffany via conference call.
[I suspect it's not just you guys he's trying to confuse, but us as well.]
"Oh?"
[Yes. Tiffany and I teamed up with Shayna's cousin to try and break whatever code is encrypting Trilos's cart, but it seems whoever created the code for him has caught onto our activity...In the end, I'm afraid we might be outmatched.]
I huff with a confident smirk,
"Outmatched? Don't make me laugh, Cas; you're one of the smartest guys I know...And Weber's no slouch either. Put that together with Tiff's detective eyes, I know you guys can outwit that F.S. hacker."
[Addy...Hmph, (nod) okay. We'll keep trying.]
"I appreciate it. In the meantime, I'll just settle with following the closest icon to one of the fields."
Tiffany nods,
[Okay, but please be careful. There's no way to know for sure if all of these icons are even carts to begin with.]
"Right. Beep you later, guys."
(Pi-Ping)
Letting out a breath of air, I mutter,
"Okay...now there's just one more thing to do."
"And what would that be?"
I answer Astral's question just as I pull up the text feature of my gazer.
"Warning the only two people left in this tourney that I actually shared contact info with."
I keep the message short and sweet, then send it away, before shifting gears to follow the closest Trilos marker down a left-bound path...
Kite, Shark, you better be using your heads is all I can say.
No POV
At the same time our main duo discover Nistro's unfortunate fate and formulate a plan to rescue him from the fiendish gang leader, the rest of our remaining fighters in this tournament continue their last-minute prepping for their coming battles...
Quattro redirects himself to a path which puts him on course for where the Space field will be, his mind still a bit muddled thanks to the interference of Trilos...something Vetrix takes notice of.
[My my, Quinton. I certainly didn't expect you to be this rattled by a simple punk.]
"My apologies, sir...I cannot explain it, but there's something off about that boy."
[Oh?]
"(Nod) And there's something else. (Glance) I couldn't see his cart on the map the entire time, but now there's several copies of his icon running around...and Nistro's has disappeared."
It's possible he was defeated, but for it to have occurred so quickly...
Hm?
The young man with long silvery hair then spots Athena's cart icon trailing after one of the Trilos copies.
"Athena Fujina..."
[Aah, so you see it as well?...If I were to guess, it seems little Fujina is slowly being lured into her own grudge match.]
"I see...which means Nistro is likely being used as collateral..."
[Bingo!]
Sparing another glance at the girl of subject's icon, Quinton wonders aloud,
"What is her objective in this tournament? Victory, or friendship?"
[Heh. An interesting question...Athena's become quite the enigma, much like her parents were.]
"...Orion and Sarina?"
A flash of nostalgia shines for a split-second within the visible eye of Vetrix as he says to the other,
[They both greatly valued friendship, but it was that same foolish loyalty to their friend which lead to their undoing...Even so, they had their own secrets to hide.]
With that, Vetrix ends the call, leaving Quinton to furrow his eyebrows in confusion over that last statement.
Secrets?
Switching views so we're in proximity with the short masked blond, he turns down another path as he thinks to himself,
Oh yes, Quinton, I said secrets...Secrets that even I'm not foolish enough to repeat.
...Hm? What's this?
Suddenly, he's approached from the left, behind and right of his cart by three of the duel circuit's finest, namely, Count Crazy Fang, Pepe Perez and Lord Percius!...But Vetrix isn't afraid; on the contrary, a grin of excitement spreads onto his face.
Hehahaha, so there's still a few stragglers left, eh?
In the trio's control is Rabidragon, a snowy-white dragon monster boasting a strong 2950 Attack Points; Behemoth the King of All Animals, a fuschia purple beast sporting a stronger 2700; and finally, Master of Oz, a fusion-type monster with the appearance of a green, kangaroo-tailed koala with boxing gloves, and standing with a whopping 4200 Attack Points...
"My my my! Three super-powerful monsters, ahahahahaha! Any one of them could eliminate even the most expert of duelists, and these three terrors are attacking poor little ole me. Things look bleak now, don't they?"
(...Sneer) Or they would, had they faced someone else.
Sorry, gentlemen, but your time in this carnival has come to a close.
...As soon as they reach a far point in the tunnels, there came a loud explosion, and the monsters previously targeting Vetrix are swiftly annihilated! The echoes of the duelists' outcries as they are ejected from their carts brings a sadistic grin to his face.
Hehahaha! And with that, we should be down to just eight duelists including myself.
...Now then...
He zeros his vision on Dextra and Kite's icons.
Let's see which one of them will be my first true opponent in these quarter-finals.
Zooming in on the young woman under radar, we see that her Life Points have climbed to astonishingly high 9000 thanks to a couple of Spell Markers containing Life Point-replenishing cards...Even so, she makes note of her desired opponent's power as the ones previously chasing him are swiftly taken out.
"He defeated three duelists at once...Vetrix's power is off the charts...Mm?"
That's when she sees the one she wants to protect closing in on her target.
"...Kite...There's no way I'm gonna stand by and let Kite duel this guy."
With that, she picks up the pace...
Meanwhile, back in the stadium, Heartland catches the audience up regarding the current standings.
"There's so much action going on in the Dragon's Den, it's hard to keep track! Let's recap all the craziness: of our twenty-three original finalists, only fourteen survived the Skyscape Section, and now six of them have been eliminated in the Dragon's Den. There's only eight left!"
The giant screen behind him shows the eight faces caught in real time, and the group supporting Athena, Kite and Shark feel smiles creep onto their faces when they see that their friends are still competing.
"Looks like Addy and Astral are hanging in there."
"And so's my brother!"
"And Shark too!"
...Flip then forms a frown before remarking,
"Still, we shouldn't get too excited, considering the rest of the competition...including that mega-creep, Trilos..."
Caswell hums with a hand under his chin,
"Strange that we're seeing his face on the screen, and yet we can't find him on the maps...Must be another trick by that anonymous F.S. hacker..."
Tiffany mutters with a worried expression,
"I just hope Addy and Astral remember to keep their wits sharp...and that they can rescue Nistro."
He may have been a bit of a loud jerk, but Nistro doesn't deserve whatever that freak Trilos plans to do with him...
Heartland leads his audience into the next part of these finals, the screen shifting visuals to showcase the four battlefields.
"Up next, it's the part everyone's been waiting for. It's time for our one-on-one duels! So now...let's get set, to, DUEL!"
...We now catch up with the elder Tenjo brother as he receives some important intelligence from his robot companion after ordering them to do some sleuthing...
"Orbital, are you certain about this?"
[Yes, master Ki-Kite. Vetrix's suspicious winding route results from his path being blocked by Trap Markers. Someone appears to be leading him to where they wish him to go-go. Even more curious is that all of these Tra-Traps have butterfly names.]
"...No, it can't be..."
But there's only one person I can think of who would do this...
[The-There's something else you should know, master: someone has hacked into the map's algorithm and has created sev-several copies of-]
"Janko Trilos's marker? Yes, I know about that."
[You-You do? How?]
"Not important...Thanks for the info. Return to Hart and the others for now."
[Very well. Go-Good luck, sir!]
(Ping)
...Kite's eyes drift to the smaller hologram screen containing a message sent to him two minutes ago.
If you're seeing multiple copies of that asshat's icon, just ignore them. I'll take care of it. - Addy
Humph...You better know what you're doing, Athena.
Just then, the young woman who sports a butterfly theme for her duel monster deck rolls down to squeeze her cart between him and Vetrix!
"Hah! It's Dextra...!"
She contacts him through their carts' communications:
[I know you're after Vetrix, but he's mine!]
"What?! But why do you want Vetrix?...!"
[Let's put it this way: the sooner he's out of the carnival, the better. I think he's up to no good, so I'm gonna make sure he doesn't stick around.]
"But I have to face him. He needs to answer for his attempt on Hart's life!"
Among several other things...
The young woman refuses to be suede by her former comrade.
[You want Vetrix? Then you're gonna have to duel through me to get to him.]
"...Then you leave me no choice."
Dextra holds a card up at ready:
"Okay! You don't scare me, Kite! In fact, I'll even start us off! I give up 1000 Life Points and activate the Spell, Butterfly Ballet! Now, for every Butterfly monster in my hand, you take 300 Points of damage."
A swarm of fluttery energy butterflies soar from the face-up card, and Kite is forced to change lanes to avoid taking a nasty hit...
"Grrh!...How could you let her get away...?"
...Fine. If you're so confident, Dextra, then go ahead.
His eyes lock onto Quinton's distant icon:
Besides, now that I think about it...he might have answers I'm looking for.
With that, he continues his way down the right lane, while Dextra keeps true after Vetrix...
"Please understand, I'm trying to save you, Kite...and my best bet for that is by getting to the Jungle Field. It should give my deck the advantage it needs to overpower Vetrix."
Up ahead, the masked blond hums with curiousity,
"So, it will be her then. Interesting...I suspect she's the one guiding me with those nasty little Traps..."
I don't know who exactly she is, but it seems she and Kite share a history.
...Heh, I can use that to my advantage.
"If you wish to duel me that badly, my dear, I accept."
...Soon, the pair are in the named Jungle Field, a dome designed with the AR fixtures of a lush tropical wonder akin to the forests of the Amazon or even Madagascar...
"So. This is where you wanna face me?...It's quite pleasant here in this Jungle Field."
"Oh I promise you won't think so after you lose our duel, Vetrix."
"Hehmhmhm, enthusiasm. I like that...but I'm gonna like crushing you so much more. Ahahahahahaha!"